Jean and Darcy | Trauma leaves scars
Jul. 8th, 2023 01:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logs(backdated) Jean and Darcy have a talk about the fire in Jean's room, and Darcy offers up hers as a temporary measure.
Darcy had heard about Jean's apartment catching on fire almost as soon as she and Doug had gotten back to the mansion. From what she'd heard Jean was mostly fine and the room was repairable, but it had her wondering where Jean was going to be sleeping in the interim and seeking out her friend to figure out what she needed.
Her searching finally led her to the patio off the sunroom, and she took a quiet moment to observe Jean before announcing herself. The screen squeaked as she pushed it open, and she gave the redhead a small smile. "So, I hear you had some excitement last night. You okay physically?"
Looking up from her book, Jean rubbed her eyes, which had dark circles under them. "Could be better," she said with a shrug.
"Luckily the sprinklers kicked on before it got too bad. I still smell a little like burnt...everything." She sniffed a strand of her own hair, then sighed.
Darcy grimaced in sympathy. "Matt usually gets me a ridiculous amount of Lush products. You're welcome to raid them and my shower," she offered. "How much got ruined? Gossip made it sound lucky that it didn't spread farther, but I take a lot of that with a grain of salt."
Jean covered her hand with her face. "The mattress, the sheets, the blankets, the fire alarm, parts of the walls...I'm trying to air out what I can that got wet. Thankfully, I left my laptop in my office downstairs," she said.
She shook her head. "Not my best night ever."
"Oh jeez, that sounds like an awful night." Darcy's arms went out for a hug, then her brain caught up and they stopped awkwardly in the air before falling back to her sides. "Would you... like a hug? And where are you staying in the interim?"
Jean's eyes fluttered a little at the thought, both at the hug and where she was staying, and she licked her lips. "That's really sweet but I'm okay hug wise. Not feeling very touchy feely. But um...I guess I was going to go to take one of the empty rooms for a bit," she admitted.
"Offer's always open," Darcy replied with a light smile. "I'm not really sleeping in mine lately. Would you like to borrow it? I'd just need to grab some clothes and a pillow, but it's really not a big deal. I'm staying with Foggy and then Marci a few nights this week so I can catch up on that data we got from Marsabit." Mainly because she still wasn't willing to sleep in the same house as Quire without more protection, but work and wanting to see the extended polycule was always a good excuse. "Some really awesome lady got me glow-in-the-dark stars for the ceiling."
Jean laughed. "Can't imagine who that could be," she said. She shook her head. "I'm not sure. I'd feel weird taking someone else's room. And I um...am kinda afraid I might accidentally torch yours too."
By this point she was feeling a bit better, but she'd feel awful if she charcoaled two rooms in one week. At least it was just her stuff that needed to be replaced at this point.
"If you do, I get to redecorate. I'm sure Kevin will find some shitty billionaire's account to use too, so it'll really be doing the world a kindness. And like I said, I'm not sleeping there. I'm mostly not sleeping here at all right now, so better you have a somewhat familiar place and a friendly face just across the living room. If it'd make you feel better, I can stick anything truly difficult or impossible to replace in my safe. You'd... basically have to burn the whole room for two hours at very high heat to manage destroying that, and if that's the case we've got bigger problems than some destroyed items, yeah?" Darcy grinned, hoping that her teasing intent was actually getting across.
"But bedding, pillows, all that... if it happens to you again, those things can be replaced. Unfortunate, at worst, but I'm much more concerned about you than stuff. Bit impossible to replace you, Jean. And honestly? I'm worried about you too. Not like you to set something on fire accidentally." She wouldn't push too hard, because she hated being pushed by anyone but Kevin if she wasn't ready to talk yet. And even him... sometimes trying to talk was like getting her teeth pulled, and she hated it. But she was very concerned, and worried that if she pushed too hard Jean would clam up completely.
Jean fell silent. In that moment she somewhat hoped for a tiny, inconsequential mansion attack as a distraction. But finding nothing but peace and aggravating quiet (save for the damn chirping birds outside sounding way too cheerful), she sighed. "Oh, you'd be surprised," she mumbled, closing her book. She shook her head.
"I...it was a bad memory mixed in with the nightmare. It's fine. I'm--I'm not ready to go over it, if that's okay. Especially when it's still in my head."
"Yeah, I get it, and I'm not going to push today. But... at some point? You probably should talk to someone. A professional, maybe, but if you just want a friendly ear... I'm available. And in the meantime, the offer for my room's still available."
"Thanks," Jean said. "I appreciate it. I'm working on it. I'm just...it's not that simple."
Unpacking everything was still something she was working on, and it'd been months ago. Perhaps it never really went away, like a festering wound, or a scar.
"But I'll take the offer for your room. I promise to try to keep it all in one piece."
"I know it's hard and that it'll take time. Trauma leaves scars. I still have nightmares about Laurie sometimes. But I believe in you–in your ability to face this and come out safely on the other end." Darcy gave her a gentle smile, fingers tapping lightly on her phone. "I've sent Vi a message authorizing your access to my suite, and one to Terry letting her know you're going to be crashing for a while. I'll get my keepsakes put away for your peace of mind, but as of now mi casa es su casa."
Trauma leaves scars. It definitely did, Jean thought. She didn't realize how much until two years passed and it was still hanging over her. A never healing scar.
"Thank you," Jean said. She knew it felt awkward right now, and she didn't mean for it to be. It felt like the default for the moment. But as long as it was just awkward and not painful, she'd take it.
"You're my friend. If I can help you, I will." It wasn't always that easy or simple, but at her core, Darcy liked helping her people, and Jean had become one of them. That meant she'd make the effort to reach out when she wasn't being blinded by her own bullshit - which had admittedly taken over lately, but she was determined to keep an eye on her friends still. "Give me an hour or so, and I'll have fresh sheets and everything for you. For now though, I'll leave you to the sunshine and your book."
Darcy had heard about Jean's apartment catching on fire almost as soon as she and Doug had gotten back to the mansion. From what she'd heard Jean was mostly fine and the room was repairable, but it had her wondering where Jean was going to be sleeping in the interim and seeking out her friend to figure out what she needed.
Her searching finally led her to the patio off the sunroom, and she took a quiet moment to observe Jean before announcing herself. The screen squeaked as she pushed it open, and she gave the redhead a small smile. "So, I hear you had some excitement last night. You okay physically?"
Looking up from her book, Jean rubbed her eyes, which had dark circles under them. "Could be better," she said with a shrug.
"Luckily the sprinklers kicked on before it got too bad. I still smell a little like burnt...everything." She sniffed a strand of her own hair, then sighed.
Darcy grimaced in sympathy. "Matt usually gets me a ridiculous amount of Lush products. You're welcome to raid them and my shower," she offered. "How much got ruined? Gossip made it sound lucky that it didn't spread farther, but I take a lot of that with a grain of salt."
Jean covered her hand with her face. "The mattress, the sheets, the blankets, the fire alarm, parts of the walls...I'm trying to air out what I can that got wet. Thankfully, I left my laptop in my office downstairs," she said.
She shook her head. "Not my best night ever."
"Oh jeez, that sounds like an awful night." Darcy's arms went out for a hug, then her brain caught up and they stopped awkwardly in the air before falling back to her sides. "Would you... like a hug? And where are you staying in the interim?"
Jean's eyes fluttered a little at the thought, both at the hug and where she was staying, and she licked her lips. "That's really sweet but I'm okay hug wise. Not feeling very touchy feely. But um...I guess I was going to go to take one of the empty rooms for a bit," she admitted.
"Offer's always open," Darcy replied with a light smile. "I'm not really sleeping in mine lately. Would you like to borrow it? I'd just need to grab some clothes and a pillow, but it's really not a big deal. I'm staying with Foggy and then Marci a few nights this week so I can catch up on that data we got from Marsabit." Mainly because she still wasn't willing to sleep in the same house as Quire without more protection, but work and wanting to see the extended polycule was always a good excuse. "Some really awesome lady got me glow-in-the-dark stars for the ceiling."
Jean laughed. "Can't imagine who that could be," she said. She shook her head. "I'm not sure. I'd feel weird taking someone else's room. And I um...am kinda afraid I might accidentally torch yours too."
By this point she was feeling a bit better, but she'd feel awful if she charcoaled two rooms in one week. At least it was just her stuff that needed to be replaced at this point.
"If you do, I get to redecorate. I'm sure Kevin will find some shitty billionaire's account to use too, so it'll really be doing the world a kindness. And like I said, I'm not sleeping there. I'm mostly not sleeping here at all right now, so better you have a somewhat familiar place and a friendly face just across the living room. If it'd make you feel better, I can stick anything truly difficult or impossible to replace in my safe. You'd... basically have to burn the whole room for two hours at very high heat to manage destroying that, and if that's the case we've got bigger problems than some destroyed items, yeah?" Darcy grinned, hoping that her teasing intent was actually getting across.
"But bedding, pillows, all that... if it happens to you again, those things can be replaced. Unfortunate, at worst, but I'm much more concerned about you than stuff. Bit impossible to replace you, Jean. And honestly? I'm worried about you too. Not like you to set something on fire accidentally." She wouldn't push too hard, because she hated being pushed by anyone but Kevin if she wasn't ready to talk yet. And even him... sometimes trying to talk was like getting her teeth pulled, and she hated it. But she was very concerned, and worried that if she pushed too hard Jean would clam up completely.
Jean fell silent. In that moment she somewhat hoped for a tiny, inconsequential mansion attack as a distraction. But finding nothing but peace and aggravating quiet (save for the damn chirping birds outside sounding way too cheerful), she sighed. "Oh, you'd be surprised," she mumbled, closing her book. She shook her head.
"I...it was a bad memory mixed in with the nightmare. It's fine. I'm--I'm not ready to go over it, if that's okay. Especially when it's still in my head."
"Yeah, I get it, and I'm not going to push today. But... at some point? You probably should talk to someone. A professional, maybe, but if you just want a friendly ear... I'm available. And in the meantime, the offer for my room's still available."
"Thanks," Jean said. "I appreciate it. I'm working on it. I'm just...it's not that simple."
Unpacking everything was still something she was working on, and it'd been months ago. Perhaps it never really went away, like a festering wound, or a scar.
"But I'll take the offer for your room. I promise to try to keep it all in one piece."
"I know it's hard and that it'll take time. Trauma leaves scars. I still have nightmares about Laurie sometimes. But I believe in you–in your ability to face this and come out safely on the other end." Darcy gave her a gentle smile, fingers tapping lightly on her phone. "I've sent Vi a message authorizing your access to my suite, and one to Terry letting her know you're going to be crashing for a while. I'll get my keepsakes put away for your peace of mind, but as of now mi casa es su casa."
Trauma leaves scars. It definitely did, Jean thought. She didn't realize how much until two years passed and it was still hanging over her. A never healing scar.
"Thank you," Jean said. She knew it felt awkward right now, and she didn't mean for it to be. It felt like the default for the moment. But as long as it was just awkward and not painful, she'd take it.
"You're my friend. If I can help you, I will." It wasn't always that easy or simple, but at her core, Darcy liked helping her people, and Jean had become one of them. That meant she'd make the effort to reach out when she wasn't being blinded by her own bullshit - which had admittedly taken over lately, but she was determined to keep an eye on her friends still. "Give me an hour or so, and I'll have fresh sheets and everything for you. For now though, I'll leave you to the sunshine and your book."
